…We’re not indebted to any bank — Arumemi-Ikhide

…Aircraft sold over Arik’s debt to Access Bank — Consultant

Another Arik aircraft, a Boeing 737-700, is being dismantled at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, amid a dispute over an alleged debt to Access Bank.

However, Chairman of Arik Air, Johnson Arumemi-Ikhide, has denied that the airline defaulted on its obligations to the bank before the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria took over the airline.

Speaking with The Guardian, Arumemi-Ikhide said any developments after the takeover should be explained by the receiver-manager, who, he noted, has responsibility for the airline’s day-to-day management and fiduciary obligations.

The aircraft, according to The Guardian’s findings, is located between the Civil Aviation Flying Unit hangar and the Air Force helicopter hangar at the domestic wing of the Lagos airport.

The dismantling has reportedly been ongoing for about a month, with several components, including avionics, radome, interior fittings and doors, removed.

Arumemi-Ikhide said the receiver-manager had contacted Arik’s shareholders in October 2024 over the alleged indebtedness to Access Bank and security over the airline’s aircraft and engines.

He said the shareholders responded in December 2024, requesting the underlying documents to verify the alleged debt but claimed the documents had yet to be provided.

He also said the matter was under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) with Access Bank and Arik’s shareholders assisting investigators who requested records of the alleged loans for forensic examination.

Arumemi-Ikhide added that Arik shareholders had observed the dismantling of the Boeing 737-700 last week and wrote to the receiver-manager on August 17 seeking clarification.

He expressed concern over what he described as the destruction of Arik’s assets under “pretexts of all sorts unverified loans”, calling for an investigation into the matter.

However, Media Consultant to Arik Air in Receivership, Simon Tumba, said the aircraft was sold after all necessary procedures and legal requirements had been fulfilled.

Tumba told The Guardian that the aircraft was secured in favour of Access Bank, which provided the relevant security documents to Arik Air and subsequently to AMCON.

He said the documents were verified as genuine and that neither Arik Air nor AMCON objected to Access Bank’s exercise of its security rights, including the sale of the aircraft.

“The aircraft was subject to security in favour of Access Bank. The bank provided the relevant security documentation to Arik Air and subsequently to AMCON, and the documentation was verified as genuine.

“Accordingly, Arik Air and AMCON did not object to Access Bank’s exercise of its security rights, including the sale of the aircraft. We understand that the bank has now completed the sale,” he said.

The development is the second controversy over the dismantling of an Arik Air aircraft under AMCON.

In November 2024, the Federal High Court in Lagos authorised parties connected to Export Development Canada, a Canadian financial institution, to take custody, control and dismantle a controversial CRJ1000 aircraft, registration number 5N-JEE, formerly operated by Arik Air.

Justice Alexander Oluseyi Owoeye, in a judgment delivered on November 27, 2024, also restrained the EFCC from harassing, intimidating, detaining or threatening the applicants or their contractor over the discharge of their lawful civil obligations concerning the aircraft.

The judgment followed a dispute over ownership and repossession of the CRJ1000, which had been removed from Arik Air’s operational fleet several years earlier. (The Guardian)

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